Review by khaulah -- The Prize by Geoffrey M Cooper

[khaulah]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Prize" by Geoffrey M Cooper.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Pam Weller is an assistant professor at the Langmere Institute for Neurological Disease. The story begins with the evaluation of Pam for her research work on finding a drug for Alzheimer’s disease. She is given just two years by the committee members to come up with significant results to gain tenure. Pam’s team consists of George and Holly (post-doctoral fellows), Vicky (technician and lab manager), and Janet and Francisco (second-year graduate students).

George developed a screening system that helps them to examine chemicals in the Langmere chemical library at a much faster rate. While screening the chemical compounds, Holly finds a candidate drug that blocks Alzheimer’s plaque formation. Instead of sharing this news with Pam and her fellow project members, she keeps the information a secret. Holly decides to document the activity of the potential drug by herself in the hopes that she’ll be made the first author in their scientific paper, instead of George.

When Holly finally reveals her discovery to Pam, her hopes get shattered when Pam says that George is to be the first author as they agreed when they first started doing the project. Holly is rattled and develops a grudge against Pam, as the first authorship could have gotten her a permanent faculty position at a top institution. What will be the consequences of this grudge for Pam? Read the book to find out.

The basis of the framework of the book is scientific misconduct. With academic research as the background of the story, The Prize is an intriguing page-turner. Geoffrey M. Cooper writes effortlessly. The story flowed well until the end. The specific point where the book seized my utmost attention is when Holly intentionally tried getting first authorship status by carrying all the work by not including George. There were absolutely no parts in the book which I felt were unnecessary or which compelled me to skim the pages. The character of Pam is relatable because we all face challenging circumstances related to our career sometimes or confront situations when someone betrays our trust. I also enjoyed the sweet relationship between Pam and Jake, her boyfriend, who is supportive of her. The amount of suspense is just right, making the reading experience delightful.

The prize provides a glimpse into what it is like to work in research; how scientists work, petty academic politics, the pressure that scientists face to produce positive results for grants, and ethics of clinical research. It brings to light issues with scientific research, such as the dilemma of who deserves to be an author on a scientific paper as it is not easy to compare the contributions of various individuals, fierce competition for academic positions, and the importance of first or second author status.

I wish the ending was more elaborate. There are no details on the fate of other characters, such as George and Vicky. Nevertheless, The Prize deserves 4 out of 4 stars. There is non-borderline profanity in the book, but no sexually explicit scenes. The book seems professionally edited; I did not come across any grammatical or typographical errors.

The Prize is a must-read for future researchers. Readers from a non-scientific background should not let the complex subject scare them from reading the book. The story is so entertaining that even general readers would be able to appreciate it.

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The Prize
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[Honest-reviewer]

The book seems quite interesting as well as informative. I would like to read this. Thanks for your insightful review.

[khaulah]

The book seems quite interesting as well as informative. I would like to read this. Thanks for your insightful review.

Thanks for reading my review!